Writing Rules

 

A) Submission and Assessment Process

1.        Submission

1.1. Online Submission System: Authors should submit their articles via SEMMR's online submission system. The system allows authors to upload their manuscripts, enter necessary information, and track the submission process.

1.2. Submission Requirements:

  • Articles should be original research, reviews, applied studies, or short communications in the field of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).
  • Submitted articles must not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • All authors must declare their contribution to the study and approval of the content.

1.3. Article Format:

  • Articles should be prepared according to the journal's writing and formatting guidelines. (Manuscript Template: Download)
  • They should include a title page, author information, abstract, keywords, main text, tables, figures, and references.

 

2.        Editor Review

2.1. Preliminary Review: The Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors conduct a preliminary review of incoming manuscripts. At this stage, the relevance of the article to the subject, originality, and compliance with basic quality standards are evaluated.

2.2. Referral to Referees: Articles that pass the preliminary review are referred to referees who are experts in the relevant fields. Editors appoint at least two independent reviewers for each article.

3.        Peer Review

3.1. Double-Blind Refereeing: SEMMR implements a double-blind refereeing process. In this process, the identities of the authors and referees are kept confidential.

3.2. Referee Reports: Referees evaluate the article according to the following criteria:

  • Originality and innovation
  • Methodological accuracy
  • Data analysis and consistency of results
  • Compatibility and contribution to the literature
  • Quality of writing and presentation

Reviewers provide constructive feedback in their evaluation reports and recommend one of the following decisions for the manuscript:

  • Acceptance
  • Acceptance with minor revisions
  • Re-evaluation with major revisions
  • Rejection

4.        Evaluation and Publication Decision

4.1. Editor's Decision: The chief editor makes the final publication decision, considering the reviewer's reports and recommendations. This decision is communicated to the author(s).

4.2. Revisions:

  • Minor Revisions: The author(s) make the minor corrections suggested by the reviewers and resubmit the revised manuscript.
  • Major Revisions:The author(s) make the major corrections suggested by the reviewers and resubmit the revised manuscript for re-evaluation.

4.3. Re-evaluation: If necessary, the revised manuscript is re-evaluated by the same reviewers or new reviewers.

5.        Publication Process

5.1. Accepted Articles: Accepted manuscripts are sent to the author(s) for final check before publication. The author(s) may make minor edits and corrections at this stage.

5.2. Publication: After the final edits are completed, the article is published in accordance with the journal's publication schedule and made available on the journal's website.

6.        Communication and Tracking

6.1. Author Communication: The author(s) can stay in contact with the editors throughout the submission and review process and obtain information about the progress.

6.2. Submission Tracking: Through the online submission system, the author(s) can track the review process of their articles in real-time and receive necessary notifications.

7.        Final Check and Submission

7.1. Language and Spelling Check:

  • Articles should be checked for language and spelling rules before submission.
  • If necessary, a professional language and spelling service can be obtained.

7.2. Online Submission:

  • Manuscripts should be submitted through SEMMR's online submission system.
  • The author(s) must fill in all required information completely during submission.

B) Article Types and Main Text

1.        Research Articles

Definition: Research articles present original findings in the field of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and include theoretical and methodological innovations. These articles test hypotheses, propose new models, and contribute to existing theories.

Content:

  • Introduction: Purpose, significance, and research questions/hypotheses.
  • Methodology: Research design, participants, data collection tools, and data analysis methods.
  • Findings: Analysis and conclusions of the data obtained.
  • Discussion: The place of the findings in the literature, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research.
  • Conclusion: Overall findings and study significance.

Example Topics:

  • Development and testing of a new SEM model.
  • Applying SEM to different sample groups and comparing the results.
  • Examination of new statistical techniques used in SEM.

2.        Review Articles

Definition: Review articles are studies that systematically examine and summarize the existing literature on a particular topic. Such articles reveal the current state of the field, its main trends, and gaps.

Content:

  • Introduction:Importance and scope of the topic under review.
  • Literature Review:Detailed analysis and comparison of existing studies on the topic.
  • Discussion:Strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature, research gaps, and recommendations for future research.
  • Conclusion: Overall findings and contributions of the review.

Example Topics:

  • Review on the use of SEM in educational research.
  • Literature analysis of SEM applications in health sciences.
  • Comparative review of software and techniques used in SEM.

 

3.        Application Articles

Definition: Application papers are studies that address the application of SEM methods in practical fields. Such papers show how a particular problem can be solved using SEM and the results obtained.

Content:

  • Introduction: Purpose and context of the application.
  • Methodology: Detailed description of the implementation, data collection and analysis methods.
  • Findings: Implementation results and findings.
  • Discussion: Evaluation of the results of the implementation and practical recommendations.
  • Conclusion: Overall results of the implementation and implications for future implementation.

Example Topics:

  • Analysis of student success factors in an educational institution using SEM.
  • Evaluation of patient satisfaction in health care using SEM.
  • Customer loyalty and SEM in business management.

4.        Short Papers

Definition: Short papers are concise reports that present important and urgent findings.  They are often intended to share smaller-scale studies or preliminary findings quickly.

Content:

  • Introduction: Purpose and importance of the research.
  • Methods:A brief and concise description of the methods.
  • Results:Brief analysis of the data obtained.
  • Discussion:Brief evaluation of the findings and recommendations for future research.
  • Conclusion:Overall findings of the research.

Example Topics:

  • Brief introduction and preliminary results of a new SEM method.
  • Results of a pilot study in a small sample group.
  • A brief analysis of an urgent issue that is felt to be lacking in the literature.

 

5.        Main Text

 5.1. Introduction:

  • Explain the context, purpose, and significance of the research.
  • The research questions or hypotheses should be clearly stated.

5.2. Methodology:

  • The research design, participants, data collection tools, and data analysis methods should be explained in detail.
  • Data collection process and ethical approval information should be provided.

5.3. Findings:

  • The data obtained should be presented with reference to tables and figures.
  • The results of statistical analyses should be stated clearly and comprehensibly.

5.4. Discussion:

  • The findings should be compared and interpreted with the literature.
  • Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research should be presented.

5.5. Conclusion:

  • Overall findings and practical implications of the study should be summarized.

 

Writing Rules

Manuscripts to be submitted to the journal should be organised according to the following spelling rules.

1.        File Format:

  • Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.
  • All statements in the article (abstract, introduction, tables and figures, references, etc.) should be written in Times New Roman font.
  • All statements in the article (with exceptions such as tables, figures, footnotes, etc.) should be 1.5-line spaced and in 12 point font.
  • All submissions must be made electronically via the online submission platform called Open Journal Management System at https://semmrjournal.com.

2.        Page Structure and Page Numbering

  • The page size should be A4.
  • Use a margin of 2.5 cm on all sides of the page.
  • There should be a single line space between paragraphs and paragraphs should not be indented.
  • All pages must be numbered consecutively. Page numbers should be placed at the bottom right corner of each page. The cover page should not be numbered.

3.        Main and Subheadings

  • The title of the article should be short and concise and reflect the content. The main title should be written in capital letters, 14 pt and bold letters, Times New Roman font, single-spaced and centred on the page.
  • Sub-headings should be written with the first letter of each word capitalised, in 12-point font and bold.
  • Sub-subheadings should be written in 12-point font and italicised with the first letter of the first word capitalised.

4.        Author Information:

  • All authors in the article should indicate their full names and the institution they are affiliated with on the first page of the article.
  • The full name, institution, e-mail address and ORCID number (if any) of the author(s) should be indicated on the title page.
  • Author order should be determined according to the contribution rate.
  • The affiliated institutions of the authors are the institutions where the research was conducted. If the affiliation of any of the named co-authors changes during the refereeing process, the new affiliation can be given as a footnote. No changes can be made to your membership after your article is accepted.
  • The sections of the article should be in the following order:
  • Title page
  • Abstract (between 200-250 words and should include an unstructured summary)
  • Keywords (between 4 and 6 words)

5.        Article Type

  • Under the author information, the type of article (Research Article, Review Article, Review Article, Theoretical Article, etc.) should be specified.
  • The articles can contain a maximum of 8000 words excluding references. This range includes the entire text such as structured abstract, bibliography, all text in tables, tables and figures, and extended abstract.

6.        Abstract and Keywords

  • The abstract should be in 9 pt, Times New Roman font, right and left margins 1 cm inside the main text, single-spaced, single paragraph.
  • The abstract should be between 200-250 words and should summarise the purpose, methods, findings and results of the study.
  • The number of keywords should be between 4-6.

7.        Equations

  • Equations should be numbered starting from 1 from the beginning. The numbers should be shown in brackets (1) and should be placed on the right side of the equation or formula.
  • The characters in the equation must be understandable.  For this reason, it is recommended to write equations or formulae in ‘Math Type’.
  • All variables and statistical tests (such as t-statistics, F-statistics) should be italicised.

8.        Tables, Figures and Graphs

8.1. Tables:

  • All tables should be numbered sequentially in the text (Table 1, Table 2, etc.).
  • Tables should be descriptive and clearly organised. Tables should not have vertical lines, only horizontal lines should be used. Tables should be single-spaced and the expressions in the table should be written in 8 pt.
  • Table titles should be placed above the table and should be descriptive.
  • For the table title, 10 pt. font size should be used and the title should be aligned to the left. Tables should also be formatted according to APA Style.
  • Tables should provide new information to the researchers. 
  • It is requested that the tables in the text be positioned in the center of the page.
  • Please utilize a period as the decimal separator for all numbers in the text and in the tables. For example, 0.85.

8.2. Figures:

  • Shapes must be of high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for greyscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size). EPS, PS, JPEG, TIFF or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) files are acceptable for figures drawn in Word.
  • Figures should include photographs, illustrations, multi-colour graphics and flowcharts. All figures should be placed in the appropriate place in the manuscript. Authors should number figures consecutively according to their appearance in the main text. Figure titles and captions should be added below the figure body. Figures should be in high resolution (minimum 200 dpi). For the figure title, 10 pt, Times New Roman and Centre alignment should be used.
  • In the article, pictures, figures and graphics should be shown under the name ‘figure’.
  • All figures should be numbered sequentially in the text (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.).
  • Figure captions should be placed below the figure and should be descriptive.
  • Figures should be explained by giving reference in the text.
  • Explanations of the abbreviations used in the figures should be given as explanations under the table.

9.        In-text citations

  • Citations should be in APA7 (American Psychological Association) format.
  • Example for one author: (Author Surname, Year); example for two authors: (Author Surname & Author Surname, Year), example for more than two authors: (Author Surname, et al., Year)
  • Reference List:
  • All references should be listed in alphabetical order and in APA7 format.
  • Sample Reference:
    • o Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Book Title. Publisher.
    • o Article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Article Title. Journal Name, Volume (Issue), Page Ranges. doi

10.  Footnotes

  • Footnotes should be placed at the end of the footnoted page in a numbered manner.
  • Footnotes should be written in 10 pt, 1 line spaced and justified to the left.

11.  Appendices

  • Necessary additional materials (e.g. questionnaire forms, additional tables) should be numbered as ‘Appendix 1’, ‘Appendix 2’ at the end of the article.
  • Appendices should be presented separately from the main text and each should start on a separate page.
  • Appendices should be given before the References. 

12.  Bibliography

For the bibliography, SEMMR recommends the seventh reference format of APA (American Psychological Association). For references, authors should use 12-point, Times New Roman, justified font (APA's web address can be given here).

13.  Using Third Party Material

You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article. It is permitted on a limited basis to use short text excerpts and some other types of material for the purposes of criticism and/or review without formal permission. If you wish to include any material in your article for which you do not own the copyright, you must obtain written permission from the copyright holder prior to submission.

14.  Data availability

If there is a dataset associated with the article, please provide information on where the data supporting the results or analyses presented in the article can be found.

15.  Publication Fees

There is no submission fee, publication fee or page charge for this journal.

16.  Disclosure notice

The Disclosure Statement is to acknowledge any financial or non-financial interest arising from the direct application of your research. If there are no relevant competing interests to declare, please state this within the manuscript, e.g: The authors declare that there are no competing interests to declare.

17.  Funding details

Please provide all details required by your funding and grant-making bodies as follows:

For single organization grants

This work was supported by [Funding Organization] under Grant [number xxxx].

For multi-organization grants

This study was supported by [Funding Organization #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Organization #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Organization #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

 

18.  Ethics Committee Decision:

Authors are responsible for maintaining high ethical standards in their work, including avoiding plagiarism, ensuring the confidentiality of research participants, and adhering to relevant ethical guidelines.